Washington, D.C. (October 17, 2012) – The Application Developers Alliance announced today that Joel Spolsky has been named Chairman of itsBoard of Directors. The 22 member Board unanimously elected Spolsky, a pioneer and thought leader in the developer community, to be its chairman. As Chairman, Spolsky will help to shape programming and policy initiatives for the Alliance and its more than 15,000 members. Spolsky is the co-founder of Fog Creek Software and the co-founder of Stack Exchange. His website “Joel on Software,” is read by developers around the world and translated into thirty languages.

“When a developer writes applications software, they are writing a script for the future. They’re creating little pre-programmed robots which they will send into the future. That’s why app development is incredibly important and why I joined the App Developers Alliance,” said Spolsky.

The Application Developers Alliance works to ensure that developers have the resources, network, and policy environment they need to innovate and power the world through software. Spolsky is a founding member of the Alliance Board of Directors and has been an integral part of the Alliance’s growth to represent nearly 100 companies and more than 15,000 individual developers in its first year.

“The application development industry is young, dynamic, and rapidly evolving. As the Application Developers Alliance works to meet the needs of the developers driving the industry, Joel’s guidance and support is invaluable. Throughout his career Joel has dedicated his energy and considerable talents to making developers lives better. He is uniquely qualified to be our Chairman, and we are thrilled to have him lead our Board of Directors,” said Jon Potter, Alliance President.

In addition to his popular website, Spolsky has written four books about software development, including Smart and Gets Things Done: Joel Spolsky’s Concise Guide to Finding the Best Technical Talent (Apress 2007). Spolsky has previously worked at Microsoft, where he designed VBA as a member of the Excel team, and at Juno Online Services, developing an Internet client used by millions.

The Application Developers Alliance is an industry association dedicated to meeting the unique needs of application developers as creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Alliance members include more than 15,000 individual application developers and dozens of companies, investors, and stakeholders in the apps ecosystem.